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The Walter P. Chrysler Museum is shutting down permanently this December

It is with disappointment that we report the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, MI, will be closed down permanently at the end of this year. The museum, which closed in 2012 after not being able to cover costs, was recently reopened to the public on alternating weekends starting in June, but Chrysler made the decision to shutter it altogether after its final day of operation on December 18, 2016. The reason for this is primarily because FCA needs more office space, and the company decided to convert the museum for that purpose. The the cars will be moved to storage after the closure, and they'll be shown at various events. However, they'll only be able to be seen together for two more weekends. Those weekends include those of November 19 and 20, and December 17 and 18. The museum will be open from 10 am to 4 pm on those days. If you can, we highly recommend visiting the museum. Adults get in for $10, seniors and retired FCA employees for $8, kids between 6 and 17 for $6, and kids under 5 for free. It also has some fantastic cars including concepts from the 1950s to the 2000s, oddball performance vehicles such as the Omni GLH-S, and of course plenty of fascinating history. And if it makes any difference to you, there's even a purple Plymouth Prowler you can sit in. Just make sure you don't wait too long to make up your mind about visiting. Related Video:

Dodge could return to NASCAR, Marchionne says

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said he'd "love to" bring Dodge back to NASCAR. The news could signal a potential shift in America's favorite motorsport away from today's three-manufacturer arrangement, but we're wondering just how much sense Dodge's return would make amid NASCAR's dwindling television ratings and attendance figures. It took a visit from Ferrari at NASCAR's biggest icon, Daytona International Speedway, for the Ferrari Challenge World Finals to get Marchionne on the subject of Dodge and stock car racing. When asked about the possibility on Sunday, the FCA boss revealed he'd just spoken to NASCAR executive vice president Jim France the night before about Dodge's return. Dodge announced its NASCAR departure in 2009, as it was in the grips of a major bankruptcy alongside cross-town rival General Motors. While GM's Chevrolet brand stuck it out and won three of the last four manufacturer championships, the final Mopar-powered team flipped to Ford in 2012. Marchionne takes the blame for the decision, citing reasons that are, frankly, very good. "I am the guilty party at the table. In 2009 we came out of bankruptcy; we couldn't [justify] racing in NASCAR when I was trying to pay bills and make payroll," Marchionne said, according to Autoweek. "I think we're in a different place now." NASCAR is in a different place, too. The sport has struggled with disappointing television ratings in the past several years, and it's not uncommon to tune into races at some of the sport's marquee tracks, like Bristol Motor Speedway, and see scores of empty seats. Sponsorship dollars are also drying up. That could explain Marchionne's non-committal follow-up comments. "We need to find the right way to come back in," Marchionne said, adding that he'd revisit the idea with Jim France and International Speedway Corporation CEO and NASCAR board member Lesa France Kennedy "in short order." Related Video:

Hero gets his truck back better than new thanks to community support [w/video]

You ever hear a story and start cringing before you hear the end because you know how it's going to turn out? That could very well have been the case with the story from a few weeks ago in West Valley City, Utah, where a 14-year-old kid stole his grandfather's Hyundai Veloster and took it for a joyride - through a park full of children. But instead it turned into a heart-warming tale of heroism and a community banding together to do what's right... and then some.
Bryson Rowley was that hero who identified the danger and, rather than sit idly by and watch the joyrider potentially run over a child, got into his truck and drove it into the menacing runaway hatchback. The collision caused some $7,500 to his 2008 Dodge Ram 2500, but instead of getting stuck with the bill - one which his insurance may very well have refused to pay since the crash was, technically speaking, intentional - his community pitched in a helping hand.
Bryan Ellison, who owns West Valley Carstar with his brother, saw the news on television and wanted to help. So he brought Rowley a rental car, picked up his truck and brought it back to his auto repair shop. People from around the community donated parts, and when all was said and done, some $15,000 of work and upgrades were performed on the Ram that was returned to an overwhelmed Bryson Rowley better than new. Watch the video below for the full story.